Abstract : The effects of artificial damage on the branching pattern were studied for a natural population of Nothofagus dombeyi trees. In four independent experiments, leaves, buds, distal internodes and-or nodes were clipped from main-branch shoots. The sizes of shoots close to the site of damage were compared with those of control shoots. None of the treatments induced the outbreak of dormant proventitious buds or adventitious buds. Organ clipping from shoots in winter or early spring resulted in moderate increases in the growth of shoots close to the site of damage. The removal of a distal shoot in late spring caused an increase in the growth of a neighbour shoot. The size of the largest shoot relative to that of the other shoots developed on the same parent shoot seems to depend on the tree concerned.